Infrastructure

President Barack Obama will be visiting St. Paul’s recently-renovated Union Depot on Wednesday, and people had a chance Monday to get tickets. The president is expected to announce a new competition to create jobs and restore infrastructure. Jill Martin from Roseville came to the Union Depot on Monday to get tickets, and says it’s a perfect location for the president’s visit.

After the 35W Bridge collapsed, MnDOT increased bridge inspectors by 50 percent, introduced new inspection technology, required an independent review of new, complicated bridges and limited the weight on a bridge during construction. In 2008, the state legislature decided to spend $2.5 billion over 10 years on state bridges. Big projects include the Lafayette Bridge (Highway 52) in St. Paul, the Hastings Bridge and Highway 43 in Winona.